The objective of this proposal is to train pre-doctoral students in Developmental Biology. Twenty-four faculty propose continuation of a broad, interdisciplinary training program. These faculty use molecular, cell biological and genetic approaches to address fundamental problems in developmental biology. Participating faculty have appointments in a total of 12 basic science and clinical departments within the university. All have extremely active research programs. Productive interactions between laboratories and trainees are promoted by an annual retreat, symposium/journal club series, joint research meetings, shared supervision, and a variety of collaborations. The program is conducted within the broader context of the Program in Biological Sciences, a consortium of seven UCSF graduate programs with more than 100 participating faculty. It attracts students of exceptionally high caliber. The features of our training program that are especially attractive to prospective students are the following: (1) a wide choice of laboratories for thesis research, (b) a laboratory rotation system, (c) an excellent st of courses, (d) a tutorial in how to present a seminar, (3) a highly cooperative spirit, and(f) an awareness that graduate training is important to the faculty at UCSF. We strive to facilitate the intellectual growth and scientific skills of each trainee so that each graduates as an independent scientist who will be able to contribute to the field for many decades into the 21st century.